A Vineyard Valentine: The Day After
by deepfriedcake
Summary: Most hated episode ever, right? Let's see if we can't help Lorelai and Luke have a better Valentine's Day. And a happier ever after too, while we're at it!


**Author's Notes: **A lot of people really hate this episode, including **javajunkie86**, who has suggested more than once that I try my hand at making it better. So to thank her for her loyal support and never-fail reviews, here's my stab at giving Lorelai and Luke a better Valentine's Day.

* * *

><p>A quick glance into the diner revealed an almost perfect scene. Three tables were filled with local residents, none of them, however being members of the premier gossip brigade. An out-of-town delivery guy sat at the counter, sipping at a cup of coffee. Weak February sunshine poured across the old wooden floor, the slant of the rays showing that the afternoon was well on the way to waning.<p>

Lorelai stepped inside, butterflies circling her stomach. No, not butterflies. Something bigger. Dragonflies, maybe. It felt like a flock of huge, glimmering dragonflies were nervously battering against her insides.

She reminded herself ― again ― that the diner was a public place and she had just as much right as anyone else to be here. She chose a small table, close to the kitchen, and pulled out a chair. The leg screeched against the floor and she grimaced, apprehensively looking behind her. No one appeared, though, and she quickly sat down.

So far so good. No Luke yet. Or ― or that other person. The one whose visit meant she was supposed to keep out.

This trip to the diner was a spur of the moment plan. Although she'd had another restless, solitary night in her bedroom, her mind jumping from lobsters to bicycles to ostentatious necklaces, she hadn't really been plotting some sort of ultimatum. It wasn't until she happened to look out of her window about an hour ago and saw Luke stealthily wheeling April's bike out of her garage that something inside of her had snapped. All at once confrontation sounded like sanity. Certainty seemed more desirable than doubts. Being alone suddenly seemed preferable to the aching loneliness.

She couldn't stop seeing the guilty look on his face as he snuck the bicycle into the back of his truck. This from the one man she truly believed would never keep secrets from her. The one guy she thought would always tell her the truth. And here he was, leading a double life. Keeping her on one side, his daughter on the other. Lying to himself every bit as much as he was to her.

The dragonflies roared and tumbled in her tummy and she bit her bottom lip, trying to keep them contained.

"Didn't expect to see you yet." A mug full of steaming coffee thunked down in front of her and she jumped.

She gulped and chanced a look up at him. He didn't seem upset. Curious, maybe. Like maybe he thought they'd gotten their wires crossed.

"I needed…" She suddenly ran out of air. She sucked some in and almost choked when the oxygen had to compete for space in her chest with the dragonflies. "I needed to go over some stuff with you."

Luke eyes tracked over to the staircase so quickly that if she didn't know why she wouldn't have even noticed it. "Sure," he said amiably.

Lorelai nodded and rummaged around in the huge tote at her feet, finally pulling out a supersized dayplanner. It was actually from two years before, since she found she now kept most meetings and reminders electronically on the Inn's computer or on her phone, but she hoped he wouldn't notice that. Her chilled fingers managed to scrabble through the pages until she found a blank week.

He sat down on the chair opposite her, and although he didn't make a sound, she could feel his sigh. She was sure he thought she was going to bring up more wedding stuff. Something to replace June 3rd.

More fumbling in her bag and she located a pen. She circled the Thursday on the week displayed between them.

"Rory doesn't have classes on Friday. She's coming home Thursday night. That means we won't be able to see each other until she's gone. Maybe later on Sunday night would be OK. Would you want to do something then?"

She was trying not to watch him, but she saw his eyebrows draw together. She saw the droop to the corner of his mouth. That was disappointment, right? It was good that he still felt disappointment, wasn't it? Maybe all was not lost.

"You two planning on having a girls' only weekend or something?" he asked her, still frowning.

"No, nothing like that," she said blithely. Good God, how had she ever been able to pull off this sort of stuff around him? Her heart was going to explode from the tension.

"Then what's going on?" He was wary now. Confused.

"It's probably just a good idea for Rory not to see you this weekend."

"Rory doesn't want to see me?" He was obviously concerned now, and his eyes were trying to squint through the hurt. "Did I do something wrong? That idiot Logan told her something I said, didn't he? She knows I didn't mean any of that crap, doesn't she?"

"This doesn't have anything to do with what _Rory_ might want."

Luke shook his head. "Then I don't understand."

When Lorelai tried to speak, a spasm hit her jaw, making her molars clack together inside her head. She got back in control and managed to deliver her tit-for-tat message. "Chris doesn't think she should be around you so much."

For a second his mouth dropped open in shock, but fury soon followed. "Chris! _Chris _thinks she can't be around me? What the hell does _he_ have to say about it?"

"Well, he _is_ her father, Luke." She paused and forced out a chuckle. "Man, I almost had a Stars Wars reference there, didn't I?"

Luke's hands were clenching around the edge of the table. "You mean to tell me after all this time, he's finally trying to act like a real dad to her? And you're listening to him? Come on! She's over 21, for cryin' out loud!"

"He's just concerned about her getting her heart broken in case we don't last. He's worried about her being too attached to you."

"Too attached! Too―" He sputtered around for a few moments, sheer annoyance making him incoherent. "I've seen her practically every day since she was 11! I helped her make a bug collection for biology class! I fed her mashed potatoes for a week when she had the chicken pox! I'm the one who taught her how to parallel park, and now he thinks he can lay down the law about who she can be around? How can you even…" His words trailed off and his gaze grew hard. "Oh. I get it." His chuckle sounded just as forced as hers had a minute ago. "This is about April again. I thought we talked that all out over the weekend."

"No, we didn't," she refuted. "We talked about our non-existent wedding. We didn't discuss April at all."

"Lorelai, come on!" He was clearly exasperated. "You know what I'm up against! You know Anna's got me over a barrel here! I don't dare fight her, you know that! Anna's not ―"

Exasperation went both ways, and Lorelai leaned over the small table, grabbing the collar of Luke's shirt and giving it a yank in frustration. "Anna's not ―" she started to repeat heatedly, but a sudden realization of the significance of this conversation made her attitude shift abruptly. She let go of the handful of flannel and slumped back in the chair. She had to fight to whisper the words through the tears now clogging her throat. "Anna's not the one who's hurting me."

She looked down at her clasped hands until she was able to swallow away the tears. She hadn't come here to cry.

When she finally looked up, he was looking straight at her. White-faced. Scared. He looked like he finally realized just how much was at stake here.

"You need to let me in, Luke. I'm going to be her stepmother, supposedly. And if I'm not…" She had to swallow down the tears again, and while she did that she worked her engagement ring over her knuckle, until it was dangling off of her fingernail. "And if I'm not, then that's a whole 'nother conversation." She tried to smile, even though she'd never felt less like smiling in her whole life. "And that's probably not a conversation you want to have here, because I promise you, I _will_ cry."

There was a moment of silence, a stillness that lasted eons while her words dangled in the air between them. Then Luke's chin lifted and she saw him swallow hard. Both of his hands shot across the table to hers. He pushed the ring back down on her finger and then squeezed her hand so tightly that the platinum band felt like it was cutting into her skin.

"It's not that bad, is it?" he asked desperately. His voice, his eyes, his hands ― everything about him was sorrowful and desperate. "We haven't really gotten to that point, have we?"

"Oh, Luke." Those first words came out as a sigh. "I love you so much. And I want to marry you so badly that some days it's the only thing I can think about. I want the white dress and the church and the bows on the pews. I think I even want us to do the thing where we light the candle together and keep it and get it out every year on our anniversary. I think I even want white roses, and I _hate_ white roses. I want to marry you so much that I'm almost willing to let my mother plan the Romanov extravaganza she's always wanted."

"Let's not go overboard, here," Luke said, and his familiar wry tone gave her some hope.

"But as much as I want to get married, I want you more. I'm willing to forget about getting married if that's not what you want. I just want you, Luke. I want our lives together. I want our middle and our end, and I want it with Rory and April and kids of our own. And Paul Anka. But you've got to let me in. Please let me in." Now she was the one doing the pleading.

He was still holding her hand with both of his, the thumb of one hand rubbing over and over the engagement ring. "Lorelai, I ―"

"Hey Luke, the TV's doing that weird wonky thing again. I tried turning it on and off like you said, but it's still messed up."

Luke dropped her hand the second he heard April's voice. He gave her a nervous look and jumped up to go over to the girl.

Lorelai didn't even bother looking over at them. She swept the dayplanner off the table and back into her bag, using that as an excuse to hunch her shoulders and wipe quickly at her cheeks. Everything was still the same, but at least he'd heard her. She'd slink away yet again and leave him with his newfound love, but at least she'd had her say. At least she'd tried.

She stood up to leave, but before she could take even one step away Luke was beside her. He'd pulled April over with him, and she was now looking at Lorelai with unguarded curiosity.

He then further stunned her by dropping April's arm and pulling her against him in a bruise-inducing hug. His hand cradled her head beside his face. "You are my life. You're not just in it," he whispered, his voice choked. He kissed her temple and then turned her around to face April.

"April, you need to meet Lorelai. She's my…" Lorelai could feel him struggling over how to define her. "She's my best friend," was the descriptor he finally settled on, giving her a rueful smile and a shrugged shoulder to go along with it. His arm stayed firmly around her waist.

"Lorelai, this is my daughter. This is April." She recognized the amazed pride in his voice. It was the way she sounded when she mentioned Rory.

"Oh, wow! This is Lorelai? I was wondering when I was ever going to get to see you. I was beginning to think you really were some sort of mythical river-bound creature," April said excitedly.

"No, I'm real. But extra points for the German folktale reference." She took a pause to recover her balance after the last few dizzying moments. "I've been anxious to meet you, too."

"We're getting married," Luke blurted out, apparently no longer wanting to hold back any secrets. His hand slipped down to hers, squeezing it once again.

"You are?" April's smile grew bigger. "When?"

"Oh, we really don't know yet," Lorelai said, at the same time Luke replied "June 3rd."

April's forehead puckered as she looked back and forth between them, waiting for clarification. They looked at each other the same way.

"I think the June 3rd ship has already sailed," Lorelai finally observed.

"Are you sure, though? Maybe you could still call about the deposits," Luke encouraged her.

"Well, I don't know. Um, maybe." Lorelai shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what to do with the two hopeful faces watching her.

"You plan weddings all the time," Luke pointed out. "How hard can it be?"

A laugh snorted out of her and suddenly Lorelai felt more like herself. "That just proves how little you understand the whole over-the-top wedding planning process. What if there's not time to book the dancing midgets?"

April was biting her lip distractedly, doing a calculation in her head. "That's still 109 days away. I admit I don't know anything about wedding planning, but that seems like plenty of time. Especially if you had people to help you. I could, if you wanted." She looked at Lorelai confidently. "I'm really, really good at organizing."

"Well, sure," Lorelai said slowly. "I'd love to have your help." She was feeling a little dizzy again.

"Good." Luke put his hand firmly on her shoulder, pushing her down onto the chair. He pulled out a chair for April and motioned for her to sit down, too. "Why don't you two talk about it some, and, uh, get to know each other. I'll, uh…" He looked behind him, both of his hands going to the top of the blue baseball cap as he contemplated his next move. "I'll go get you some food," he said, nodding his head decisively.

Lorelai and April looked at each other circumspectly while Luke took a few steps towards the kitchen. He whirled around suddenly.

"Lorelai, you'll stay, right? Have dinner with us?"

His voice was gruff and his words few, but she looked up at him and saw both the apprehension and the sincerity in his offer. She understood that this was more than just Luke trying to do the right thing. This was his apology, his plea for forgiveness, and his promise that he was once again 'all in.'

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," she assured him. She smiled at both of them.

The relief hit him hard and his shoulders sagged for a brief moment before he squared them again. "Then after we eat, I think you should come along when I take April home. I think it's time that you met April's mom too." His mouth pulled into a grim line. "I think all of us need to have a talk."

She was super glad to be sitting down. "If you want me there, I'm there," she promised.

Luke walked away and there was a small anxiety-filled space of silence between her and this girl she didn't really know at all. "So!" she started out, brightly. "I, uh, I hear your dad fixed your bike."

April instantly started to chatter about everything Luke had done to make her bike safer on the road, but Lorelai could barely follow her words. Relief and excitement were swirling through her, filling up the aching hollowness that had been inside her for weeks. The dragonflies had fled, too.

A movement at the kitchen door caught her attention and she saw that Luke was still hovering there, watching them. She stared at him until he looked at her, their eyes meeting and holding.

_Thank you,_ she mouthed to him.

He nodded and then ducked his head, glancing at the floor. His gaze quickly came back to hers. His fist came up and tapped twice against his heart while he nodded again.

_I love you. _Delivered in Luke-speak. Which luckily she once again spoke perfectly. Her smile told him that.

Lorelai nodded back, sniffed away a few happy tears, and brought her full attention to the remarkable girl sitting at the table with her, who in 109 days _was_ going to be her stepdaughter.

* * *

><p>Lorelai loved Valentine's Day. She'd forgotten just how much she adored the red-and-white, heart-laced holiday. Her feet had danced through the Dragonfly all day, bestowing free desserts and complimentary glasses of champagne to any couple in attendance. Their bottom line for the month was definitely going to take a hit, but she was so darn happy she just didn't care.<p>

She was ready to dash down the hallway to the kitchen again when a familiar strong arm grasped her around the waist. She giggled as she stumbled back against him.

A long-stemmed white rose appeared in front of her, a curling red ribbon tied in a bow around it.

"Pretty." She grabbed the rose and sniffed at it appreciatively while turning to face her fiancé. "See? They smell really good, but they're such a typical wedding thing. I think I want something more exotic. Maybe."

Luke locked his arms around her and smiled indulgently. "You know I don't care, right? As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

A humming noise of contentment escaped her throat. She gave him a quick kiss on his recently-shaved cheek. "So is this later?"

"Later?" He quirked an eyebrow but kept the smile.

"This morning. When you left at whatever ungodly dark hour it was. You said you'd see me later." Her bedroom had not been solitary last night after their return from Woodbury. And there had been multiple kisses bestowed around the 'later.'

"This is part of the later," he agreed. He motioned towards her office door. "Can we go in there and talk?"

"Uh-oh. Luke Danes wants to talk. That can't be good," she muttered, mostly teasing. She wrapped her arm around his while they walked the few feet to her boss's space.

"So, I thought last night went really well," Luke observed as soon as the door was closed.

Lorelai smiled to herself. This had already been discussed several times on the ride home. But she was giddy about what had transpired herself. She didn't mind rehashing it again.

"I think it went amazingly well."

"I do too." Luke was nodding as he mindlessly went around her office, absently picking up the little pieces of memorabilia she kept scattered about. "Although I really thought Anna was going to call the cops on us when she first came to the door."

"She's pretty scary. I think I'd still put my money on Mrs. Kim if the two of them were ever in a cage match, but Anna is no slouch."

Luke's head turned to see her. "But then she saw how much April already liked you. She saw how excited she was about the wedding."

Lorelai sniffed at her Valentine rose again. "It's really nice to have April on our side." She looked over at Luke, just a very small dose of worry spilling over her. "It was OK that I asked her to be a bridesmaid, wasn't it?"

"She's thrilled, Lorelai." Luke dodged a footstool and came over to take her hand. "I am too." He took in a big breath and let it out. "It's such a relief that you like each other." His head tilted slightly as he gave her a studied look. "And I should have known that you'd even charm Anna."

"I don't think I'd go that far," Lorelai warned, mumbling under her breath.

Luke shook his head. "Don't sell yourself short. I was watching pretty closely. Every time you talked about Rory, I saw her unbend a little bit more. Every time you talked about running your own business, I saw her look at you with a little bit more respect."

"I don't think we're going to be best buds anytime soon."

"God, I hope not!" He laughed and fit his arms around her. "That would be my worst nightmare!"

She laughed too and slipped her arms around his neck. "Afraid we'd compare notes, Butch?"

The laughter left him abruptly. His forehead came down to rest against hers. "No, that's not my worst nightmare. My worst nightmare would be losing you. And I was so stupid I almost made that come true."

Lorelai squeezed shut her eyes and hugged him tightly. "No," she argued. "Didn't happen."

"Almost," he said again, sighing. "Look, I know this wasn't some sort of magical fix for everything. I know we need to talk more and learn how to take care of each other better. But we've made a good start, haven't we?"

She let her fingers trace over his still-worried face. "Look how far we've come just since Saturday, Luke. We've made huge progress. Just think how happy we'll be by June 3rd!"

He took her fingers and kissed them softly. "There's one more thing we should talk about yet." He sounded grumbly again.

"What?" she asked with concern.

He grimaced. "That necklace." He sighed gustily. "You know, right?"

"That you didn't pick it out?" She nodded. "Yeah, I figured that."

He made another face. "Will you ever wear it?"

She didn't even hesitate. "No. It'll always remind me of the awful part."

Luke nodded. "So what do we do? Give it to Rory to give it back to him?"

"Sounds like a solution to me."

"Good." Luke's shoulders rose and fell as he put that episode behind him. "I do have something else for you, though."

"You do?" The giggly happiness was washing over her again. "Luke, you know you don't approve of the whole Valentine merchandising thing."

"I don't mind it on the actual Valentine's Day. It seems appropriate to remember your sweetheart today."

"Is that what I am? Am I your sweetheart?" she teased.

"Yep," he confirmed, and with no other fanfare he pulled a small black velvet box out of his pocket and held it out to her.

She hadn't been expecting that. She searched his face while her thumb flipped open the lid. A flash of diamonds had her fumbling to find the edge of the desk behind her for balance.

"Oh, Luke. Luke, this is a…this is…"

"It's a wedding band," he stated. "And I guess that wasn't real smart of me, now that I think about it, getting you something that you can't wear until June. But I wanted you to know I'm committed to us, Lorelai. I want to marry you. I don't want you to have any doubts in your head about that at all."

She couldn't take her eyes off of the sparkly band. It made everything so much more real. She let the desk support her while she cautiously ran a finger over the tiny jewels.

"If you don't like it, we can go and pick out another one," Luke offered. "Liz actually helped me pick this one out."

Lorelai tore her gaze away from the pretty promise in the box and looked up at Luke with a big smile. "Liz has good taste. No, this is perfect." She removed the ring from the case and held it up against her engagement ring. "See? Couldn't be better."

Luke came closer and put his hand on her knee. "Try it on," he urged.

"Really?" She looked hesitantly at the ring. "Isn't that bad luck or something?"

"I doubt it," Luke grinned. "Come on, just for a minute. Make sure it fits."

She handed the box to Luke and took off her engagement ring, beating down the memory of the desperation she'd felt just yesterday when she'd more-or-less offered it back to him. Then she held out her bare hand and Luke slipped the wedding band on her finger.

The ring glittered back at them. Luke held her hand and his thumb rubbed across her knuckles. They looked at each at the same time and their eyes locked.

Suddenly they were together, their arms tight around each other.

"Oh, God, I never meant―"

"I know, I know―"

"To lose you―"

"You won't―"

"If I ever act like such a damn fool again, you kick my butt, you hear me?"

She held him tighter. "With pleasure."

His hand was buried in her hair. So much for the careful straightening. He had her face pressed so tightly against him that she knew her makeup was smeared ― and she didn't care one little bit.

"I love you." His voice was choked with emotion.

"I love _you_." Hers was shiny with joy.

He found her lips and they kissed. That was still the best way to confirm their unconditional connection to each other.

Lorelai's laugh was a little shaky as they pulled apart. "Well." Reluctantly she put the wedding band back in the box and held it out to Luke. "Put that someplace safe until June 3rd, OK?"

"Will do." Smiling, he put the box back into his pocket.

She took a breath and finally focused just on him. "My, you're certainly looking dapper, Mr. Danes." She spread his arms apart and looked him over approvingly. "Nice pants. Nice shirt. Nice shaving." She looked at him suspiciously. "Going somewhere?"

Luke reached out and ran a thumb along her jaw. "Yep. Thought I'd take my sweetheart out for Valentine's Day."

"I can't," she said sadly.

"You can't?"

"No." She shook her head. "I mean, you were so anti-Valentine's Day, and besides, we did our thing over the weekend. I never dreamed you'd want to do something tonight, so I scheduled myself to work. I can't leave."

Luke looked bitterly disappointed. "So, one more thing I screwed up on."

"Hey, don't say that." She gave him a quick hug. "We're working on all this, remember?"

"Right." He sighed. "Well, when are you done? I'll come over and pick you up."

Again she shook her head. "You're not hearing me, Luke. I'm here all night."

"All night?" He was looking a little irritated. "You're stuck here all night?"

"Yep." She moved behind her desk and searched through a drawer. "Good thing I've got a room," she said, holding up a key.

He stared at the key dangling from her fingers and realization slowly broke over him. "I don't suppose the room reservation is for two, is it?"

Lorelai grinned and handed the key over to him. "It just might be. Why don't you go on up and get settled?"

He chuckled as he took the key. "I might get to like this holiday yet."

"You might." She gave him a sly look from under her lashes. "But don't look around the room too closely. There's a present for you hidden up there."

"Hmmm." He rocked back on his heels as he studied her. "Is it in a pink bag?"

Lorelai laughed. "Maybe."

"Definitely going to like this holiday," he confirmed. He kissed her again. "Don't be too long," he urged.

"I won't. Just let me make the rounds down here again and I'll be right up." Lorelai fluttered her fingers at him while he walked out the door.

She quickly reached for her engagement ring and slipped it back on. Her hand had felt desolate without it. Just the way her life had felt when Luke had pushed her out. Thank goodness they'd taken steps to put things right. She shuddered, imagining what could have happened if they'd just let things go on the way they were.

But now she had a wedding ring on hold for her, and a stepdaughter-to-be, and a gorgeous hunk of sexy man waiting for her to come upstairs. Life was pretty damn good.

Lorelai jumped up from her desk, in a hurry to finish her innkeeper duties and start the night with her sweetheart. Once at the door, though, she rushed back to the desk and scooped up her Valentine rose. She raced back out of the door, the sweet scent of the rose washing over her.

_Best Valentine's Day ever_, she thought happily.


End file.
